President Donald Trump fired 17 independent watchdogs at various federal agencies late Friday, a Trump administration official confirmed to Fox News, as he continues to reshape the government at a blistering pace.

Trump dismissed inspectors general at agencies within the Defense Department, State Department, Energy Department, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Department of Veterans Affairs and more, notifying them by email from the White House Presidential Personnel Office, the Washington Post first reported.

"It’s a widespread massacre," one of the terminated inspectors general told the Post. "Whoever Trump puts in now will be viewed as loyalists, and that undermines the entire system."

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that Trump's action may violate federal law that requires the president to give 30 days' notice to Congress of his intent to fire any independent watchdog, the Associated Press reported. 

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"There may be good reason the IGs were fired. We need to know that if so," Grassley said in a statement. "I’d like further explanation from President Trump. Regardless, the 30 day detailed notice of removal that the law demands was not provided to Congress." 

The White House did not respond to a request for comment. 

Inspectors general at federal agencies are called on to investigate government waste, fraud and abuse. They operate independently and can serve in multiple administrations.

The mass firing is Trump's latest attempt to force the federal bureaucracy into submission after he shut down diversity, equity and inclusion programs, rescinded job offers and sidelined more than 150 national security and foreign policy officials. Trump began his second term with the intent of purging any opponents of his agenda from the government and replacing them with officials who would execute his orders without hesitation. 

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Among those spared from Trump's wrath was Department of Justice inspector general Michael Horowitz, the New York Times reported. Horowitz led the investigation of the FBI's Russian collusion probe, which exposed at least 17 "significant inaccuracies and omissions" in the FBI's application for a FISA warrant in the Crossfire Hurricane investigation. 

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., slammed Trump's firings, calling them a "purge of independent watchdogs in the middle of the night." 

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"President Trump is dismantling checks on his power and paving the way for widespread corruption," Warren posted on X.

During his first term, Trump fired five inspectors general in less than two months in 2020. This included the State Department, whose inspector general had played a role in the president's impeachment proceedings.

Last year, Trump's predecessor Joe Biden fired the inspector general of the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, after an investigation found the official had created a hostile work environment.

In 2022, Congress passed reforms that strengthened protections for inspectors general and made it harder to replace them with political appointees, requiring the president to explain their removal.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has been accused of allegedly quietly changing the job title of its former diversity officer as President Donald Trump ordered all federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) employees be placed on paid leave. 

"The ATF defied @realDonaldTrump’s order to place DEI workers on leave, instead giving their DEI officer a new title. They attack citizens’ rights, ignore leadership, and act as though they’re above the law. Enough is enough. Time to abolish the ATF!" Republican Missouri Rep. Eric Burlison posted to X. 

The ATF, a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice’s umbrella, previously employed Lisa T. Boykin as its chief diversity officer before her title was changed on the ATF’s website this week to "senior executive" with the ATF. An archived link of the ATF’s website reviewed by Fox Digital shows Boykin was listed as the chief diversity officer as recently as Tuesday — Trump’s second day in the Oval Office — and now shows her as working as the agency's "senior executive." 

Trump had railed against DEI programs and offices at the federal level, as well as in the education system, throughout his campaign. Upon taking office on Monday, he inked an executive order terminating ​​"illegal DEI and 'diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility' (DEIA) mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities in the Federal Government, under whatever name they appear."

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The following day, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) told agency and department leaders to begin shutting down DEI offices and to place DEI employees on paid leave. 

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"Send a notification to all employees of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) offices that they are being placed on paid administrative leave effective immediately as the agency takes steps to close/end all DEIA initiatives, offices and programs," the OPM directive, which was obtained by Fox News Digital, read. 

A biography for Boykin from 2023 detailed that she began working as ATF’s Human Resources Operations Division in 2016 and "as a collateral duty, in 2021, Mrs. Boykin also began serving as the Bureau’s Chief Diversity Officer," the New York Post reported. 

"With the Bureau’s continued focus on enhancing DEIA, Mrs. Boykin currently assumes the work of the CDO in a fulltime capacity, leading and implementing departmental programs and mandates, while bringing renewed vision and effective strategies to maintain an informed DEIA culture for the Bureau," Boykin’s bio added.

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When asked about the title change and subsequent criticism on social media, an ATF spokesman responded that the agency has followed DEI directives from the Trump administration. 

"ATF began implementing OPM’s Initial Guidance on DEIA immediately after its issuance on January 21, 2025, in response to the President’s Executive Orders. We have proactively taken the necessary steps to ensure compliance with this guidance, including by placing impacted personnel on administrative leave," an ATF spokesman told Fox News Digital. 

Fox News Digital asked for clarification on whether Boykin's new title protects her from administrative leave but did not immediately receive a reply. 

Fox News Digital also reached out to Boykin on her ATF email and received an automatic response noting she was unavailable to reply. 

"I am currently unavailable and unable to return e-mails at this time," the email read. 

Social media commenters and critics of the Biden administration’s diversity initiatives slammed the ATF employee’s title change on social media, clamming the agency is "circumventing" the Trump administration's orders. 

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Biden championed diversity initiatives under his administration, rolling back the first Trump administration's policies that banned diversity training in government agencies during his first week in office in 2021. 

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"In the weeks ahead, I will be reaffirming the federal government’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and accessibility, building on the work we started in the Obama-Biden administration. That’s why I’m rescinding the previous administration’s harmful ban on diversity and sensitivity training," Biden said in January 2021. "Unity and healing must begin with understanding and truth, not ignorance and lies."

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was confirmed unanimously by the Senate to be the next secretary of state, making him the first of President Trump's Cabinet picks to receive congressional approval.

Rubio, a senator since 2011, was confirmed during a floor vote by the full Senate Monday night, several hours after Trump took his oath of office earlier in the day. The full Senate floor vote occurred following a separate vote by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which also voted unanimously in favor of Rubio's nomination Monday.  

Rubio enters his role as secretary of state with a strong foreign policy background as a longtime member of the Senate's Foreign Relations and Intelligence Committees. He is also a first-generation Cuban American.

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His road to confirmation has been less controversial than many of Trump's other Cabinet picks. At Rubio's first confirmation hearing last week in front of the Foreign Relations Committee, the committee's top-ranking Democrat, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, said she thought Rubio possessed "the skills" and is "well-qualified" to serve as the next secretary of state. She echoed this sentiment Monday evening as well before the full Senate vote.

"I've had a good working relationship with Sen. Rubio for many years, and I was very impressed during his hearing by his grasp of policy," Shaheen said Monday evening. "While we may not always agree, I believe he has the skills, knowledge and qualifications to be secretary of state."

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Rubio expressed during his initial confirmation hearing last week that under Trump the State Department's "top priority" will be to put America first. 

"This will not be easy," Rubio said. "And it will be impossible without a strong and a confident America that engages in the world, putting our core national interests, once again, above all else."

Rubio will face some major challenges heading into his new role, notably the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Rubio described the fighting between Ukraine and Russia as a "stalemate" that "has to end" during his confirmation hearing last week, adding that under Trump's proposed peace deal both countries will have to make "concessions." Meanwhile, despite Trump's past criticisms of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Rubio called the alliance "very important" and insisted that Trump was also a NATO supporter.

On Gaza, Rubio supported Israel's actions to defend itself against Hamas but stopped short of indicating one way or the other if he thought Israel's annexation of parts of the West Bank was something he supported. 

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"The idea would be that there not be conflict and the people could live side-by-side with one another without being in conflict and with the ability to pursue prosperity," Rubio said. "Sadly and unfortunately the conditions for that to exist have not been in place for a substantial period of time."

Rubio also repeatedly singled out China during his remarks in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week. "We welcomed the Chinese Communist Party into this global order. And they took advantage of all its benefits. But they ignored all its obligations and responsibilities," Rubio posited at his hearing. "Instead, they have lied, cheated, hacked and stolen their way to global superpower status, at our expense."

While Rubio did not face significant opposition to his confirmation, some Trump-aligned Republicans have expressed disdain over Rubio's willingness to certify the results of the 2020 election that Trump alleged was "stolen" from him. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has been an outspoken supporter of less U.S. intervention, also questioned Rubio's hawkish stance on American intervention amid his confirmation to be secretary of state.

President Biden issued five more pardons on Sunday on his last full day in office, including for political activist and Black nationalist Marcus Garvey. 

"America is a country built on the promise of second chances," Biden said in a statement. "As President, I have used my clemency power to make that promise a reality by issuing more individual pardons and commutations than any other President in U.S. history. Today, I am exercising my clemency power to pardon 5 individuals and commute the sentences of 2 individuals who have demonstrated remorse, rehabilitation, and redemption. These clemency recipients have each made significant contributions to improving their communities." 

In addition to Garvey, the clemency recipients are Darryl Chambers, Ravidath "Ravi" Ragbir, Don Leonard Scott, Jr., and Kemba Smith Pradia. Garvey was granted the pardon posthumously. 

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The Biden White House described Garvey, who influenced Malcolm X, as "a renowned civil rights and human rights leader who was convicted of mail fraud in 1923, and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment." 

Former President Calvin Coolidge commuted his sentence in 1927. "Notably, Mr. Garvey created the Black Star Line, the first Black-owned shipping line and method of international travel, and founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association, which celebrated African history and culture. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. described Mr. Garvey as ‘the first man of color in the history of the United States to lead and develop a mass movement’," the White House said. "Advocates and lawmakers praise his global advocacy and impact, and highlight the injustice underlying his criminal conviction." 

Congressional leaders had pushed for Biden to pardon Garvey. Supporters long argued that Garvey's conviction was politically motivated and an effort to silence the increasingly popular leader who spoke of racial pride.

Biden also pardoned Ragbir, an immigrant rights activist, and Smith Pradia, an advocate for criminal justice reform. Ragbir was convicted of a nonviolent offense in 2001 and was sentenced to two years in prison. Smith Pradia is an advocate convicted of a drug offense in 1994 when she was sentenced to 24 years behind bars. President Bill Clinton commuted her sentence in 2000.

Biden also announced he is commuting the sentences of 2 additional individuals – Michelle West and Robin Peoples – so that their sentences expire on Feb.18, 2025. 

West was convicted in the '90s on charges that included conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, drug-related homicide and aiding and abetting in drug-related homicide, court records show. 

The White House said West "is currently serving a life sentence for crimes she committed between 1987 and 1993." 

"During her three decades of incarceration, Ms. West has demonstrated extraordinary rehabilitation and personal transformation," the Biden White House argued. "Ms. West’s clemency petition has received overwhelming support from the civil rights community, women’s rights advocates, former fellow inmates, and lawmakers. Supporters describe Ms. West as a role model who has built a 31-year record of rehabilitation and redemption." 

Meanwhile, court records show Peoples was convicted of bank robbery and other associated offenses. 

Peoples "is currently serving a 111-year sentence for crimes he committed in the late 1990s," the White House said in their announcement. "Mr. Peoples would likely face a significantly lower sentence under current law and policy. While in custody, he has demonstrated remarkable rehabilitation and courage. Mr. Peoples’s clemency petition has received overwhelming support from the civil rights community, government officials, friends, and family members. Mr. Peoples’s supporters describe him as a model inmate, an inspiring mentor, and someone deserving of a second chance."

It's still not clear whether Biden will use his last full day in office to give pardons to people who have been criticized by President-elect Donald Trump.

Biden had floated the idea of issuing preemptive pardons for possible offenses by Trump’s critics that could be investigated or prosecuted by the incoming administration. Doing so would stretch the powers of the presidency in untested ways.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

No one knows how much taxpayers spend on bargaining with federal labor unions, and President-elect Donald Trump can right that wrong. Building on reforms from his first administration and with support from the new Department of Government Efficiency, he could direct every federal agency to report how much it spends dealing with government labor unions, something no agency has ever done. Disclosure would provide transparency and accountability for the American people, who would surely be shocked to learn what the federal government is bargaining over and how much it costs. 

As President Ronald Reagan’s first term director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), I saw firsthand how costly the federal collective bargaining process is to taxpayers — and how it’s almost entirely out of the public eye. Trump knows this is a problem, too, having issued an executive order in 2018 directing federal agencies to disclose union perks, which OPM calculated have $163 million annually. 

Yet that executive order — which President Joe Biden rescinded immediately after taking office — was just a start. It’s even more important to examine what’s very likely a larger cost to taxpayers: How much the federal bureaucracy spends negotiating with unions, managing union contracts and otherwise bargaining with unions in the federal workforce, which is over 1 million taxpayer-funded workers strong. 

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To be sure, the union perks deserve attention. Most notably, union representatives often get to do union work like negotiating contracts or fighting disciplinary action on the taxpayer’s dime. Some federally paid workers spend 100% of their time doing union-related work, which means these public servants aren’t serving the public.  

Unions also routinely get free or discounted access to federal property. At the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salem, Virginia, a government union received half a hospital wing — more than 5,000 square feet, with a kitchen, private bathrooms and outdoor patio, mostly for the union president’s benefit. 

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Yet the cost of bargaining deserves just as much attention. What little information exists paints a picture of significant spending on picayune matters. Last fall, North Carolina Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx, then-chairwoman of the House Committee on the Education and the Workforce, documented how government unions draw out negotiations with federal agencies.  

That includes haggling over the height of cubicle desk panels, demanding designated smoking areas on tobacco-free federal property and recognizing employees’ right to wear spandex. Americans pay for every second that federal officials sit across from their union counterparts arguing about such issues, as well as all the related travel expenses, paperwork and legal hoop-jumping. 

A new report from the Institute for the American Worker, titled "Transparency Needed in the Process of Federal Collective Bargaining," sheds further light on these costs. The institute sent Freedom of Information Act requests to 28 federal agencies seeking data on expenditures related to collective bargaining. Twenty-one responded, though none had complete records.  

The Small Business Administration spent more than $6 million on salary for staff involved in collective bargaining in 2022 and 2023. The Department of Labor spent more than $1 million in travel-related costs. Considering there are hundreds of federal agencies, these numbers are a fraction of the total cost to taxpayers. 

For the sake of taxpayers, the facts must come to light. Trump can deliver real transparency by requiring agencies to annually disclose how much they spend on federal collective bargaining and the impact of such spending on government efficiency and effectiveness. Americans deserve to know how much they pay for negotiations with unions over wearing spandex, smoking cigarettes, and everything else that has nothing to do with public service. 

Jimmy Carter served as the 39th President of the United States.

Known for his Christian faith, Carter lived a life of service that left a forever mark on United States history.

Following President Biden's move to commute the sentences of 37 prisoners on federal death row, Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., called the clemency granted to two of the individuals "horribly misguided and insulting."

In the 37 cases, Biden commuted the sentences to life sentences without the potential for parole.

Manchin — a Democrat-turned-independent senator who will soon leave office — said he felt a responsibility to speak out on behalf of the parents of Samantha Burns, who was slain in 2002 at the age of 19, according to reports. 

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"After speaking to Samantha Burns’ parents, I believe it is my duty to speak on their behalf and say President Biden’s decision to commute the death sentences for the two men convicted in her brutal murder is horribly misguided and insulting," the lawmaker declared in a statement posted on X.

"Particularly since Samantha’s family wrote letters to President Biden & the Department of Justice, pleading for them not to do this, but their concerns were unheard. I can’t imagine the grief that Kandi and John Burns are reliving and dealing with during the holiday season," Manchin continued. "As their U.S. Senator and a father, I want to express my deepest sympathy for their continued suffering. Please know that Samantha will forever be in our prayers."

The two men connected with the young woman's death escaped lockup and went on a crime spree in 2002, according to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

"On November 4, 2002, cellmates Chadrick Fulks and Brandon Basham escaped from a county detention facility in Kentucky" and "unleashed a criminal rampage that lasted seventeen days and zigzagged across several states," according to the court, which noted that the men "admitted to killing Burns and pleaded guilty to carjacking resulting in death in the Southern District of West Virginia."

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In a fiery Christmas Day post on Truth Social, President-elect Trump told the 37 individuals who escaped capital punishment to "GO TO HELL!" 

In a statement about the commutations, President Biden said, "I condemn these murderers, grieve for the victims of their despicable acts, and ache for all the families who have suffered unimaginable and irreparable loss." 

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But he also said that he was "more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level."

"These commutations are consistent with the moratorium my Administration has imposed on federal executions, in cases other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder," Biden said.